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Hamid Karzai in fiery row with US official

EXPLOSIVE details have emerged of an encounter between Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At one point the Afghan president whipped off his distinctive karakul sheepskin hat and slammed it onto the table where the two men were having dinner, a day after the disputed August 20 election.

"For an Afghan man to do that, it's a big gesture," said a local businessman. "It's like throwing down the gauntlet."

The fiery meeting appears to have plunged American-Afghan relations to a post-Taliban low. Karzai used to enjoy "pally" video-conferencing with George Bush but President Barack Obama's administration has not hidden its disdain for him.

It blames Karzai for running a government whose authority was eroded by corruption and mismanagement. His likely re-election will be tainted by allegations of vote-rigging.

When the two men clashed, Karzai's campaign team had already claimed victory, fuelling